Metal: Swansea Drydocks gets permission for ship recycling facility

Environment Agency Wales is likely to give Swansea Drydocks (SDL) permission to operate a ship repair and recycling facility subject to a final consultation.

SDL hopes to invest £4 million into the facility that will dismantle ships to extract scrap metal from them.

Environment Agency Wales has given permission for the facility to begin operation, but this is only a draft decision and it will undertake a further consultation. Unless any further information comes forward from the public that forces Environment Agency Wales to change its decision, it will proceed with its decision.

In a statement, the company said: “Phase one of SDL’s £4 million capital investment plan will soon be completed, including over £1 million spent on infrastructure improvements that meet environmental best practice, and new machinery and equipment is on order.

“Ships for recycling will begin arriving as soon as authorisation has been obtained by the Environment Agency.”

Source: Scrap-Ex News. By Paul Sanderson. 27 October 2011

http://www.scrap-ex.com/news_events/news/metal/swansea_drydocks_gets_permission_ship_recycling_facility.html

City's cautious welcome for dry docks firm:

EASTSIDE politicians have welcomed the prospect of new jobs at the city's dry docks.

It comes after the Environment Agency said it was likely to award a permit to a ship breaking and repair company there.

But local councillors have also urged the agency to closely monitor the site at Phoenix Wharf when Swansea Drydocks begins operating, should a permit be issued.

St Thomas councillor Alan Robinson said: "Hopefully they (Swansea Drydocks) will fulfil the promises they are making.

"I wish them well, and I hope that they employ some local people and keep the place tidy. I am mindful we might get ships that no one else wants."

He said his only real concern was the site's proximity to a fertiliser storage plant. Swansea Drydocks has said any risk of explosion is considered to be insignificant and that fire breaks will be placed around combustible materials.

Fellow St Thomas councillor Mervyn Jones backed job creation but was not convinced a shipbreaking and repair yard was the best thing for the SA1 area.

"With the economic climate as it is any work is good — but at what cost?" he said. "As long as the Environment Agency keeps monitoring, that's fine."

An agency spokesman said: "We have given careful consideration to this application and we have drafted a permit which requires Swansea Drydocks to conform to the highest environmental standards and to operate in a way which will protect the community and environment."

The company has planning permission to use Phoenix Wharf. It said it was spending more than £1 million refurbishing the site and that ships for recycling would begin arriving as a permit had been obtained.

The long-term aim was to recruit and train a full-time workforce.

"The company aims to cover the full life cycle of a ship, from conducting surveys and ongoing repair and maintenance through to recycling," said a spokeswoman.

"We are committed to creating a world-class ship repair and recycling facility."

The firm's plans have caused some upset, though. Corinne McGill, of Port Tennant, said: "It's not good. We have got more than enough dirty industry in the docks."

Source: This is South Wales. By Richard Youle. (richard.youle@swwmedia.co.uk). 28 October 2011

http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/City-s-cautious-welcome-dry-docks-firm/story-13686703-detail/story.html

Press Release: Environmental Permit for Swansea Dry Docks Limited

Swansea Drydocks (SDL) is delighted that the Environment Agency has advertised the draft permit and their decision document, which informs the public that the agency is minded to issue the company with an Environmental Permit.  Ships for recycling will begin arriving as soon as authorisation has been obtained by the Environment Agency.

Phase 1 of SDL’s £4m capital investment plan will soon be completed, including over £1m spent on infrastructure improvements that meet environmental best practice, and new machinery and equipment is on order.

The company intends to begin operations, including both ship recycling and ship repair work, in a systematic and controlled manner. To enhance its management team, SDL is currently interviewing technical managers with specific areas of expertise, and further jobs will be advertised on the new website www.swanseadrydocks.com, in the future. Whilst in the short term, many aspects of the work will be done in collaboration with highly experienced suppliers of ship repair and recycling services, the longer term aim is to recruit and train a full time, multi-skilled workforce and to handle most aspects of the work internally.

SDL has spent over two years gaining permissions and certificates, developing and implementing site plans, researching and selecting appropriate machinery and making contacts with potential suppliers and customers. Its’ vision remains constant – SDL is committed to creating a world class ship repair and recycling facility that conforms to European standards for quality, environment and health and safety. The company aims to cover the full life cycle of a ship, from conducting ship surveys and ongoing repair and maintenance, through to end of life ship recycling, and it aims to work in partnership with the people of Swansea and Wales to achieve this vision.

Source: Swansea Dry Docks. 26 October 2011

http://www.swanseadrydocks.co.uk/news-details.asp?Auto_ID=3

New rules over ghost ships urged:

The arrival of the "ghost ships" sparked a massive protest

The government is being urged to create a ship recycling policy to avoid any more rows over so-called "ghost ships".

The Environment Agency is also calling in its top level report for an international agreement on the issue.

The calls are in response to legal disputes over Able UK's plan to dismantle a fleet of US Navy ships said to contain toxic materials in Teesside.

Green group Friends of the Earth (FoE) welcomed the report which says "lessons should be learnt" from the drama.

FoE and Teesside residents launched a string of legal challenges to the multi-million pound contract going ahead at Able UK's Environmental Reclamation and Recycling Centre at the end of 2003.

The firm has been told it cannot carry out any work until waste management and planning regulations are met.

However, the paper entitled US Navy Ships Review and written by the Environment Agency chief executive Baroness Young of Old Scone, criticises FoE for "portraying the ships as placing the environment and public at risk".

"The agency considers that the transport of ships did not pose a threat to the environment or human health, and indeed no harm has occurred," her report reads.

But it also criticised Able UK for not ensuring it had all the correct procedures in place before undertaking the dismantling contract.

Important lessons must be learnt from the fiasco, she concluded.

"A national policy on ship recycling should be established, including imports and exports and whether minimum environmental standards should be applied to all facilities involved in recovering UK flagged vessels," she wrote.

"The government should also consider whether it should promote an international agreement on ship scrapping and recovery facilities."

Waste

FoE campaigns director Mike Childs said he was pleased the Environment Agency has learnt the lessons of the ghost ship saga.

"Proper environmental investigations are now being carried out into the environmental risks posed by developing a ship-scrapping facility and local people will be fully consulted."

But he said FoE believed rich countries should deal with their own waste, rather than export it.

The group also pledged to continue to do what it could to ensure the globally important wildlife site in the Tees Estuary is fully protected.

Source: BBC. 12 May 2004

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3705969.stm